Agronomic traits, such as disease resistance, nutritional quality, senescence and cell proliferation, have been subject to improvement attempts by various methods in the past. Often, improvements are attempted through plant breeding methods, which are often very expensive and of uncertain success. More recently, genetic modifications, such as those creating transgenic plants, have been used in attempts to reach these trait improvement goals. These approaches are meeting with varied success. No one strategy or gene has proven to be a panacea, although some show promise. Successful broad improvement of crop disease resistance, among other traits, will require multiple strategies. The addition of novel genes and methods is especially of value in the area of disease resistance, where pathogens are continually evolving and no single-gene method will have sustained success for long. Thus multiple genes and strategies for genetic improvement of agronomic traits are sought. This invention provides novel genes and methods of use through which agronomic traits can be improved.